Feisty Brooklyn Nets outmatched by Indiana Pacers, lose 113-99

That was about the best possible outcome for a Brooklyn Nets team missing the required pieces to defeat a bona fide NBA team in the Indiana Pacers.

Nobody can accuse the Brooklyn Nets of poor effort.

On Monday night against the Indiana Pacers, Head Coach Jordi Fernández was without — for the second consecutive game — D’Angelo Russell, Ben Simmons, Trendon Watford, Cam Johnson, and Cam Thomas. This was the starting lineup he went with…

The bench consisted of two-ways Tosan Evbuomwan and Reece Beekman, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Jalen Wilson. Dariq Whitehead, called up from Long Island earlier in the day, was also available but did not touch the court until garbage time. That’s ten available players, none of whom can dribble, shoot, and pass. How many of them can do two of those things?

It was also the 19th different starting lineup Fernández has deployed this season, not to mention an entirely different bench unit than the one that started the season.

“I’m not concerned about the injuries,” said Brooklyn’s head coach before the game. “That’s part of professional sports and the NBA. And actually, it’s exciting to see somebody else. I mean, we don’t want to see anybody get hurt, but at the same time, now we have enough bodies to go out there and compete … So I’m ready to see who’s willing to step up. Also, I’m ready to help them, because the groups are different, the lineups, and what we run, what we don’t run, what we simplify. That’s on me. If they don’t look organized or if they turn it over, it’s 100% on me.”

An admirable sentiment from Fernández, but of course not true. Brooklyn scored 39 points in the first half, and it had nothing to do with a lack of game-planning or preparation. They’re fielding an untalented team, partially due to injuries, partially out of necessity. GM Sean Marks did not forfeit four future Phoenix Suns picks to acquire two of his own back, just to have nearly identical lottery odds to Phoenix.

Fernández could, but won’t, take some credit for how hard his Brooklyn Nets played on Monday night. They never had a chance against the Indiana Pacers, but they were by no means embarrassed. Indiana built a 20-point lead in the third quarter, but the Nets immediately responded with a 12-0 run.

Tosan Evbuomwan, the newest Net, made a bunch of cool plays…

…en route to his eight-point night.

“You can tell Tosan, he’s a presence. And how he plays, he plays like a vet, like he’s been there before, and I know he can just get better and better,” said Fernández of the Princeton product out of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in British midlands.

Noah Clowney shot an ugly 4-of-15 including 3-of-10 from deep, but given all the injuries, played 29 minutes and got to try things on offense. He even received a couple dribble-handoffs and attacked a few closeouts, including making this nice play for two…

That this game was even semi-interesting is an immense credit to the value of watching young players and/or unknown quantities develop their games — on television in a packed arena, and not behind-the-scenes — and hustle.

Brooklyn had TWENTY offensive rebounds to Indiana’s five, which led to an unbelievable 33 second-chance points. Though Fernández refused to admit it postgame — “I gotta help them better, at finding better shots” — the Nets didn’t have the necessary talent to find great shots and hit them. But they had the desire to rebound those misses, nobody more than Day’Ron Sharpe.

In 22 minutes, Sharpe posted 16/13/5, leading the Nets in scoring while grabbing nine offensive boards. If there was one player responsible for the respectable performance the Nets put forth, it was Sharpe.

Said Fernández: “His effort, second, third, fourth on the glass — that’s his superpower — and that’s why we need him to bring that every game and then keep getting better in other aspects. And today, I thought he was fantastic.”

Sharpe returned the favor, when explaining to a reporter from the Indiana side what makes Brooklyn so annoying to play against: “I think it’s our coach, for real. You know, no matter if we up by 20, down by 20, it doesn’t matter with Jordi. He wants to play hard, aggressive, all game. Pick up full-court all game, make the other team play hard all game. I feel like everybody’s buying into it.”

It’s still jarring for the mood postgame to be damn-near cheerful after a 14-point loss. The Nets undeniably played hard, so Fernández was a picture-perfect optimist: “I don’t want to get into the second quarter [where the Nets were outscored 31-17], because that’s what we don’t want. I want to focus on what we want. And that third quarter, it was great, because we end up with nine straight stops to finish, and that’s how you make runs.”

That third quarter did save the night from total misery. It gave a yearning Barclays Center crowd a reason to stand up and cheer, a low bar to clear, but one that was important to clear nonetheless after the Nets spend the second quarter re-enacting The Three Stooges routines…

Nic Claxton, perhaps encumbered by that friendly fire, shot just 2-of-10, and was mostly invisible as a force around the rim. Indiana shot 58.3% from two and got to the line 23 times, surprisingly high numbers for how active the Nets were flying around the perimeter.

That’s not all on Claxton, but there was nothing positive to point to for the $100 million man; that is, until Jordi Fernández strode to the mic, praising his energy and veteran presence.

And why not, really? A strong Claxton performance was far from the difference in winning or losing, and besides, Brooklyn’s season isn’t really about that right now. It’s about as much of Monday’s third quarter energy as possible, when the veterans were standing and clapping on the bench for guys doing their best. Every Noah Clowney flash is a worth a win, even Dariq Whitehead hitting a garbage-time three was something. Tosan Evbuomwan is funky and fun!

Better get used to seeking out the positives, it’s going to be a long few months, at least.

Final Score: Indiana Pacers 113, Brooklyn Nets 99

Milestone Watch

• Day’Ron Sharpe’s excellent day earned him a few notes. 16 points is a season-high, as is 13 rebounds. His nine offensive boards and five assists both tie career-highs.
• Keon Johnson (12 points) has now reached double-figures a dozen times this season, marking a new career-high for one season.

Injury Report

Despite all the Nets on the shelf, there’s not much to report. D’Angelo Russell’s shin contusion still has Brooklyn cautious as he deals with the after-effects of getting hit there. Ben Simmons felt tightness in his calf while warming up for Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, and now, his absence has extended to two games.

Nothing has changed for Cam Johnson (at least one more absence), Cam Thomas (at least seven more), and Trendon Watford (who has now resumed on-court activities) either.

Next Up

Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images

One more home game for the Nets before they hit the road for a season-long six-game roadie. It’ll be against the upstart Detroit Pistons on Wednesday evening, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images

• Boxscore: Indiana Pacers 113, Brooklyn Nets 99 – NBA
• Game Highlights: Indiana Pacers 113, Brooklyn Nets 99 (Video) – NBA
• Jordi Fernández on what went wrong in Nets’ loss (Video) – YES Network
• Day’Ron Sharpe on strong third quarter against Pacers (Video) – YES Network
• Tosan Evbuomwan on what he brings to Brooklyn (Video) – YES Network
• Keon Johnson on making the most of his opportunity (Video) – YES Network
• Tyrese Haliburton scores 23 points to help Pacers beat Nets 113-99 – AP
• Shorthanded Nets’ struggles deepen in loss to Pacers as second-half rally isn’t enough – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Nets backcourt decimated with Ben Simmons, D’Angelo Russell out – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Pacers hand shorthanded Nets 6th straight loss at Barclays Center – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News
• Nets Notebook: D’Angelo Russell, Ben Simmons ruled out against Pacers – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News